Almost 12 months ago I took a leap of faith. I moved from Adelaide to New York City, leaving behind my family, a lifetime of friendships and a stable career. The old line “gone in a New York minute”, used to describe the pace of life in this sprawling metropolis, is deadly accurate.

Time spent in New York has certainly taught me a thing or two about life in Big Cities. I’d love to say that every second has been perfect, a pleasure, and filled with adventure, but that would just be lying. New York isn’t a city you meet, shake hands with and both agree to play by the rules. Yes, it provides endless opportunities, but it is also hard work. Have I been out of my comfort zone? Frequently. Have I yearned for the ease and stability of Adelaide? Most certainly. But the resilience that New York embeds in its residents has allowed me to adapt and change my own ways, both subtly and otherwise, to slip more readily into the daily rhythm and heart beat of life here.

New York is a unique beast. The contrasts, extreme. Its people are mixed – wealthy and destitute, young and old, hip and nerdy. What binds them together though is a profound love and respect for the city they now call home. That was lesson 1: you can’t fight New York. This city has its charms and its differences. Here are some:

New Yorkers walk everywhere

Cars are an unnecessary evil in New York. Even those wealthy enough to own one and can afford to garage it generally don’t. Why? Traffic and parking. In a city where space is limited, time is money and parking is expensive, the most effective mode of transport is a good pair of legs. An average New York day is filled with walking, mostly to complete menial tasks. A trip to the bank is a good 10 blocks. A visit to the closest grocery store even more. A recent trip back to Australia in May made me realise just how dependent Aussies are on their cars. In Adelaide, why walk the short distance to a local café in the morning when you can drive? In New York, your only option is to battle through searing heat, rain, sludge and snow simply to deposit a cheque (yes, Americans still use cheques. Very strange behaviour from a supposedly forward-thinking country).

Bikes are taking over

New York recently (and finally) installed a bike sharing program, dubbed ‘CitiBike’. Pedestrians now find themselves dodging a new beast – tourists on wheels. The emergence of bikes on almost every block has been a welcome addition to the New York transport scene. Unlike Australian bike share programs, this one doesn’t mandate the use of a helmet, making bike riding around Manhattan a convenient, as well as cheap and effective form of travel. But the freedom of a bike comes with some issues. With tens of thousands of trips every day on CitiBikes comes a new ‘first world’ problem – insufficient supply of bikes where you want them, and lack of parks when you need them. Imagine everyone riding in one direction in the morning, and back in the other at night? Nightmare.

Good coffee is hard to find

While there are many things New York does well, coffee is not one of them. Find a good coffee shop in New York and hang on to it for dear life. New Yorkers love their morning Joe, however their idea of a caffeine buzz comes not from a freshly steamed latte or rich macchiato, but rather from a pot filled with black sludge that sits on a warmer all day. And don’t even get me started on Starbucks. Interestingly enough, the coffee shops that have really taken off in New York are run by Australians, where the humble flat white and simple espresso are slowly making a dent in the New York coffee scene. Give me Adelaide coffee any day!

New Yorkers don’t drink wine

Think South Australia? Think wine. South Aussies love touring the world to see if any of their drops make up a foreign wine list. Whether they prefer the crisp, grassy taste of an Adelaide Hills white, or the richer, earthier tones of a Coonawarra red, the average Joe knows their way around the wine section at Dan Murphy’s. In New York? Not so much. Not only is wine ridiculously expensive (think minimum $15 a glass and starting at around $40 per bottle in a restaurant), it is rarely consumed. New Yorkers are interesting creatures when it comes to drinking. Give them a cocktail over a wine and it will be slurped down with delight. Here, it is Grey Goose over Grant Burge any day of the week. And don’t forget, in a country that thrives on a tipping culture, bartenders don’t pour standard drinks, so when having a tipple, be prepared to walk away from a night with at least four drinks under your belt, despite the fact that you only ordered two.

Living in an apartment the size of a shoebox is considered normal

Want to live in an apartment the size of the average Australian garage and pay four times as much? Live in New York – the city where one bedroom is a luxury and wardrobe space comes at a premium. Hoarders be warned – no unnecessary clutter is welcome here. Every tiny space in these apartments is utilised. In some cases, even ovens and dishwashers are used to store pots and pans. Be prepared also for frequent questions from New Yorkers about how much rent you pay per month. Here, comparing (and complaining about) rental prices is viewed as a sport and is a much-loved topic of conversation.

The size of the average New Yorker’s apartment explains why people eat out four to five times per week. In this city, the dinner party isn’t dead; it was never born. Instead of entertaining at home, people socialise at bars, restaurants and in outdoor parks. Home is reserved for the most basic of human needs – sleeping and showering only please.

Australians are revered

If you ever find yourself in need of a topic of conversation, ham up the good old Aussie accent and watch the crowds roll up. Americans – New Yorkers included – love Australians. Everyone you meet has a story to tell about Australia, no matter how remote. For some, it was the fact that their second cousin’s daughter’s friend visited Sydney once 10 years ago and loved it.

For others, it is the memory of Steve Irwin, whom many (strangely) seem to hold dear to their hearts. New Yorkers are impressed that Australians make the effort to travel so far. They comment that Aussies are “up for anything” and that they love a good time. An added bonus is the strength of the ex-pat community here. Given that it is that much harder to get a working Visa in America (compared to the UK), the Aussies who you meet here are smart, strong, resilient and hard working. They want to make it in New York and for that reason, they generally do.

New Yorkers work hard, but they play harder

Hours spent in the office are worn like a badge of honour by most New Yorkers. While work chews through their Monday to Friday, late nights and weekends signal play time, with New Yorkers filing into roof top bars, trendy restaurants and summer hotspots like the Hamptons at the first chance. It is here that the truly eye-opening behaviour happens – where you’ll see Wall Street moguls dancing on tables and DJs jumping out of helicopters to deliver bottles of French champagne to people with more dollars than sense. Yes, this is bizarre behaviour, but in this city, anything goes.

At the end of the day and if nothing else, New York teaches you this: if you don’t roll with its quirkiness, its throbbing pace and its ups and downs, it will swallow you whole. Resilience here is the ultimate prerequisite. Arrive soft and naïve and you will soon harden up. It is, truly, one hell of a town.

Lucy Travers worked in Adelaide as a lawyer. In New York she has started a company that exports organic, natural and healthy snack foods and beverages from the United States to Australia. She blogs at www.lucytravers.com.